Fresh twist as Man United trying again to sign 22-year-old before tonight’s deadline

We could reportedly see some late business from Manchester United after all, with reports that they’re back in for Barcelona left-back Alejandro Balde.

The 22-year-old has been on the agenda for Man Utd this summer, though Fabrizio Romano recently reported exclusively for CaughtOffside that a deal was looking unlikely.

Despite the Red Devils looking into a deal for Balde, it seems the player’s preference is to stay at Barcelona, even if the club had been considering selling him in order to make significant profit on a homegrown player.

?? Seguimos con el maratón del cierre de mercato

? Contamos en el canal que en las últimas horas el Manchester United ha intensificado su interés por Alejandro Balde y trata de convencer al lateral del Barça

? https://t.co/JF7sX4F4Aa pic.twitter.com/AsLU5Xvi9E

— Jijantes FC (@JijantesFC) September 1, 2026

?? Seguimos con el maratón del cierre de mercato

? Contamos en el canal que en las últimas horas el Manchester United ha intensificado su interés por Alejandro Balde y trata de convencer al lateral del Barça

— Jijantes FC (@JijantesFC) September 1, 2026

“We’ve reported on the channel that in the last few hours Manchester United has stepped up its interest in Alejandro Balde and is trying to convince the Barça full-back,” the post above reads.

Want more CaughtOffside coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust

Manchester United could regret lack of left-back signing

It will be interesting to see if this Balde story develops into something concrete, though we must admit that our sources have played down this rumour for the time being.

Things can change quickly on Deadline Day, but our current understanding is that United are not expecting any new arrivals.

That could be a major error, as it looks like MUFC could really do with an upgrade on Luke Shaw, who is ageing and past his best, as well as generally quite injury-prone.

Balde could undoubtedly be a fine signing if possible, but they’re leaving it very late and there doesn’t seem to be much genuine hope there of convincing the player to leave Barca.

The Spain international might be one to look at again in the future, but for now he hasn’t opened the door for an exit from the Nou Camp.